Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Scottish Executive has sponsored surveys of school-leavers and young people since the early 1970s. These include the first incarnation of the Scottish School-Leavers Survey (SSLS) which, in the mid-1980s, was subsumed within the broader Scottish Young People's Survey (SYPS - this series is held at the UK Data Archive (UKDA) under GN 33227). Following a review in 1991 of the use made of the findings by the Scottish Executive Education and Industry Department (SEEID), the survey was redesigned and resumed the title of the Scottish School-Leavers Survey. A further review in 1996 led to the establishment of the current design, which involves sampling cohorts of young people in fourth year and then collecting data from them on four occasions, at the ages of 16-17, 18-19, 21-22 and 23-24 years. The series is conducted for the Scottish Executive by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), who were known as Social and Community Planning Research prior to 1999. The Scottish Centre for Social Research (SCSR or ScotCen) was created in 2004 by combining NatCen's existing operation in Scotland with an independent research consultancy, Scottish Health Feedback. SCSR have now taken over the running of the SSLS series. The SSLS series obtains information on the educational and employment activities of young people after they leave school; their views and experiences of school itself; and key decisions made about whether to stay on at school or not. In addition, background characteristics are gathered, such as parents' level of education and social class, family circumstances and housing tenure. One of the main aims of the survey is to try and predict demand for higher education. The survey involves a random sample of all pupils in the relevant school year group. The only exception is that pupils at special schools (but not those in mainstream schools registered as having special educational needs) are excluded from the survey. The sample consists of all pupils born on any one of certain predetermined days of the month.
The survey of 22-23 year olds (Cohort 1 Sweep 3) was the second follow-up survey (i.e. third interview) of a sample of young people who had entered Scottish school year S4, or were eligible to enter S4, in 1991. The sample for the first survey of this cohort, when members were aged 16-17, was based on the 10% samples of school-leavers in 1992, 1993 and 1994. Each of the three 10% samples were first contacted in the spring after leaving secondary school (1993, 1994 and 1995 respectively). For the 1995 follow-up survey (the second survey of this sample), an age cohort was constructed which included the sampled S4 leavers in 1992, and the sampled S5 leavers in 1993. The members of this cohort were 18-19 years old and were sent a follow-up questionnaire in the spring of 1995. The sample for the 1999 follow-up survey included all those who had responded to the 1995 follow-up survey and the 1995 leavers survey. Please see documentation for further details. Users should note that, of the surveys referred to above, the 1993 study is held at the UK Data Archive under SN 3296 and the 1994 study under SN 4428, though respondents were not at that stage referred to by cohort number. Neither of the 1995 studies (follow-up or leavers) are currently held at the UKDA.
Main Topics:
Topics covered include: educational and employment activities of young people after they left school; respondents' views and experiences of school itself; key decisions made as to whether to stay on at school or leave. In addition, information was gathered on background characteristics such as parents' level of education and social class, family circumstances and housing tenure. Standard Measures Standard Occupational Classification 1990 (SOC90); Standard Industrial Classification 1992 (SIC92); National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC).
One-stage stratified or systematic random sample
Postal survey
